London - Arabstoday
Esteghlal took a 4-2 advantage after the first leg of their AFC Champions League last-16 clash with Al-Shabab. The first half was low-key, with Siavash Akbarpoor\'s close-range miss for Esteghlal the most notable incident until Al-Shabab\'s Luiz Henrique broke the deadlock with a fine solo effort in stoppage time. Jlloyd Samuel equalised ten minutes after the interval and the Iranian champions went on to take a 3-1 lead with ten minutes remaining through headers from Javad Nekounam and Farhad Majidi. Edgar cut the deficit, but the impressive Khosro Heydari\'s late goal gave the visitors a comfortable lead. Another team coming from behind to take a first-leg lead were Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande, who trailed after seven minutes against Central Coast Mariners but eventually won 2-1. Mitchell Duke\'s volley gave the Australian hosts the early advantage but former Borussia Dortmund forward Lucas Barrios equalised in the 28th minute. Muriqui\'s deft finish in the second half then gave Marcelo Lippi\'s side a lead to take back to China PR for the second leg. Reysol, Lekhwiya in command Japan\'s Kashiwa Reysol were 2-0 winners against Jeonbuk Motors, Masato Kudo heading a second-minute opener before Tatsuya Masushima powered in a second-half corner. Youssef M\'Sakni scored the only goal eight minutes from time as Lekhwiya won 1-0 away to Al Hilal. From : FIFA